


a soft place to land

by borrowthemoonlight



Category: 9 to 5 the Musical - Parton/Resnick
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-18
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2020-10-21 11:07:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20692499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/borrowthemoonlight/pseuds/borrowthemoonlight
Summary: “I want to talk about him- Andrew. I wanna tell you about him.”Judy nods, she’s shocked to hear Violet finally say those words, although she has no idea what she’s about to hear. When she’s asked about Violet’s husband in the past, Violet always said she wasn’t ready to talk about him. And Judy’s not sure if that’s for good or bad reason, but she’s so afraid it might be the latter.-violet finally opens up to judy about her past marriage





	a soft place to land

**Author's Note:**

> so i really don't know if anyone is gonna want to read this but knowing that violet loved her husband in the musical, i just had to come up with a reason _why._ so here's that reason

Violet doesn’t know what’s gotten into her, but she hasn’t stopped crying for almost an hour now. In fact, she’s been crying herself to sleep every night for about a month. It’s pathetic really.

_No_.

No, it’s not pathetic.

Judy’s been helping her realise that. She’s not sure if Judy knows this, but she has.

Judy has helped Violet realise a lot of things, these past few months that they’ve been dating. The most important thing being, Violet is _not_ alone anymore. Judy understands Violet in a way that no one else ever has. Not since Andrew had passed away.

The truth is, for the past few years Violet has been the loneliest she’s ever been in her whole life. But then Judy came along and changed _everything_.

And it’s been tough. Judy has had to go on a real journey of self acceptance and Violet has been there every step of the way. She holds her hand when Judy needs to feel grounded, she combs her fingers through her hair when Judy cries out of confusion or frustration or _exhaustion_. She’s been there to talk things through with Judy, morning, noon and night. Whenever Judy needs her, Violet has been there. With no promises or guarantees at the end.

Perhaps that’s why Violet’s wounds feel so fresh again. She’s had to do a lot of opening up recently.

Judy has no idea that, as much as Violet has been helping her piece herself together, Judy has been helping Violet piece herself _back_ together. Violet’s had someone to share her own feelings with, and when Judy does the same, Violet finds herself relating in so many ways, which came as a little bit of a surprise to her. And it’s such a _relief_. And she knows Judy feels the same. And for the first time, she has someone who can kiss some of the pain away.

-

It’s 10:47pm when Violet turns up at Judy’s house, totally unannounced, in sweatpants and an old hoodie.

“Violet?” Judy sounds confused as she answers the door, probably because of the time. Judy’s in her pyjamas, and her hair falls softly around her face. And Violet’s so relieved to see her, so glad she’s here with her.

“Did I wake you?”

“You’re crying, Violet, what’s wrong?” Judy steps forward, wrapping her arms around her tightly, before kissing the side of her head. “Come on, come and talk to me.” Judy leads her inside, and they sit on the sofa.

“I’m so sorry.” Violet lets out a small laugh, sniffling, as she tries to compose herself.

“Sweetheart, don’t be sorry.” Judy says softly, her hand finding Violet’s and squeezing it. “You wanna talk about it?”

Violet takes a deep breath, trying not to cry more, as a tear makes its way down her cheek. “Yeah.” She nods. “I want to talk about him- Andrew. I wanna tell you about him.”

Judy nods, she’s shocked to hear Violet finally say those words, although she has no idea what she’s about to hear. When she’s asked about Violet’s husband in the past, Violet always said she wasn’t ready to talk about him. And Judy’s not sure if that’s for good or bad reason, but she’s so afraid it might be the latter.

Violet takes another deep breath, and Judy rubs her thumb over her hand and tells her it’s okay, that she can go at her own pace, even though her own heart is racing at the thought of what Violet could say.

“He was my best friend.”

_That_, Judy was not expecting. Her heart lifts a little, and she smiles.

“He was?”

Violet nods, wiping her cheeks. “We were inseparable, ever since we were teenagers.” Violet smiles. “Everyone thought we were sweethearts, we spent that much time together.”

“That’s sweet.” Judy says, squeezing her hand a little. “You weren’t? Sweethearts?” Judy had already guessed that. Violet’s made it clear she’s only ever been into women. Though the way she’s talking right now, it’s so unexpected, Judy feels the need to ask.

“No.” Violet shakes her head. “Just the best of friends. Though I know why my parents thought we were dating. My mom walked in on us sharing a bed so many times, after she made it clear that he had to sleep on the sofa, because there would be no _funny business_ under her roof.” Violet laughs again, it all seems like forever ago. “But he’d always sneak back into my room. How else were we supposed to talk to each other about our repressed gay feelings?”

“He was gay?” Judy asks, looking so surprised and significantly more relieved.

“Of _course_ he was. You’d know if you’d have gotten to meet him.” She smirks, as she looks into Judy’s eyes. “Man, he would’ve loved you, Judes.”

A tear makes its way down Judy’s cheek, hearing this, knowing finally that Violet’s husband was a _good_ man. That she did love him, in some way. “He sounds wonderful.” She tells her, very aware she still hardly knows a thing about him. But all she needs to know right now is that he made Violet _happy_.

Violet begins to weep, and Judy pulls her into a hug, stroking her hair, as she whispers, “Vi, it’s okay.”

They stay like that for a while, before Judy pulls back, smiling, as she shakes her head a little and says, “You wanna tell me how you ended up _married_ to him?”

And Violet manages to laugh through her sobs. “It was pretty ridiculous of us. But it was also the _sixties_, we thought there was no hope for us, and let’s face it, it’s not like it’s much better these days. And, like I said, _everyone_ thought we were dating, and back in those days, you got married. Well, you know all about that.”

Judy nods, she’s so glad that Violet’s marriage was so much different to her own. Neither of them had had the marriages they truly wanted, but at least Violet’s was a loving one.

“So, we thought, may as well marry each other.”

“Smart.” Judy says, still smiling.

“Yeah.” Violet whispers, through her tears. “God, he was _the best_. He really tried to give me everything, y’know? Of course, we could never give each other _everything_.”

“I can’t imagine what losing him must have been like.” And she can’t help but cry again too. “I can’t imagine having to go through that alone, having no one else know what he meant to you. What you meant to each other.”

All Violet can do is lean into Judy, rest her head on her shoulder, and sink into her warm embrace. “It’s been so. _Hard_.” And it’s so hard to admit that, admit her struggle, but she’s so relieved to finally have this off her chest. To tell someone who can finally understand her.

“I guess I pushed all my feelings down. _Way_ down. I knew that might make you think we had a hostile marriage, but I just couldn’t face… Bringing it all up again.” She says, pulling back slightly. “But it wasn’t.” She shakes her head. “It wasn’t a hostile marriage. He was the only person that-“ She lets out another sob. “The only person that accepted me. For who I really am.” She takes Judy’s hand. “Until now.”

“Oh.” Tears stream down Judy’s face. “_Violet_.” She whispers, gently pulling Violet closer to her, so devastated and yet so happy for her all at the same time.

Violet lets herself be held by Judy. Let’s her kiss away her tears, as she combs her fingers through her hair. She lets herself cling to Judy, like she may never let go. She feels so safe here. Now.

She knows it was the right choice. Letting Judy in.

“I love you.”

It’s the first time she’s said it.

“I love you too.” Judy tells her, sounding as if she’s about to cry again at any moment. “I mean it, Violet, I really love you. Thank you so much for sharing tonight with me. Thank you for trusting me, the way I trust you.”

It’s true. Violet trusts Judy more than she’s ever trusted anyone in a long time.

“Judy?” She whispers, suddenly exhausted.

“Yeah?”

“You’re _the_ _best_.”


End file.
